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‘Secret’ iPhone App Is Silicon Valley’s Newest Obsession

On the Internet, there are several kinds of communities. There are the ones where everybody goes by real identities — in theory, at least — such as Facebook. There are ones where you can choose to participate using either your real identity or a manufactured one, such as Twitter.

And then there are communities where anonymity is kind of the whole point. Such as Secret, a new iPhone app which debuted just last week. At the moment, it seems, half of Silicon Valley is fixated on it — though it’s hard to say just who, since it’s a community with no names, profiles or photographs.

The overarching purpose of Secret, say its creators, “is to not build only an app, but a platform that will bring more authenticity, self-awareness and empathy to the world.” People, in other words, are more likely to speak their mind in an…